Sultan Malik al-Salih
Ruler of Samudra Pasai in Sumatra, whose dated gravestone is among the earliest in the region.
Era 10 of 12 · Station ten
Islam in South-East Asia & China
Every year the monsoon winds carried merchants' ships from Arabia and India towards the Malay world and China, and brought them home when the winds turned. Muslim traders settled in the ports along the way, and by the late 13th century Islam was established in northern Sumatra. In China, Muslims had lived in the great trading cities since the Tang dynasty, and across the archipelago the faith was carried far more by merchants and scholars than by armies.
Who led, and when
Six who shaped the era
Key figures and peoples are listed here, since this era had no single ruling house.
Zheng He
Muslim admiral of the Ming dynasty who led seven great fleets across the Indian Ocean from 1405.
The Walisongo
The nine saints remembered for teaching Islam along Java's north coast.
The Muslims of China
Communities of Arab, Persian and Central Asian settlers and their descendants, part of Chinese society for centuries.
Sultan Iskandar Muda
Ruled Aceh at its height as a centre of trade and Islamic learning.
Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili
Scholar of Aceh who studied in Arabia and wrote a Malay commentary on the Quran.
The lands of the era
From Sumatra to Xi'an
The sea lanes ran through the Strait of Melaka, the narrow channel between Sumatra and the Malay peninsula. The overland Silk Road ended in Xi'an, long known as Chang'an.
- SumatraPasai and later Aceh
- Melakagreat port on the strait
- Javanorth-coast trading cities
- Southern ChinaGuangzhou and Quanzhou ports
- Xi'anSilk Road city with an old Muslim quarter
This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.
At a glance
The era in six facts
The years, the people, the places, and what the era left behind.
- Years
- from c. 13th centuryMuslim traders reached China in the 7th century; Islam took firm hold in the archipelago from the 13th century.
- Leading figures
- Malik al-Salih of Pasai, Zheng He, the Walisongo of Java, Iskandar Muda of Aceh and the scholar Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili.
- Centres
- Pasai, Melaka, Aceh and Java's north-coast ports, with Quanzhou, Guangzhou and Xi'an in China.
- Lands
- Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, Java and the coast of Borneo, with Muslim communities across China.
- Turning points
- The Pasai sultanate in the late 13th century, Melaka's founding in about 1400, Zheng He's voyages from 1405, and Portugal's capture of Melaka in 1511.
- Legacy
- Indonesia is today the largest Muslim-majority country, Malay was long written in Arabic script, and China has long-established Muslim communities.
Key moments
Six stops on the road
- 1Sultan Malik al-Salih of Samudra Pasai dies, and his dated gravestone still survives.
- 2Melaka is founded and grows into a great port.
- 3Zheng He sets out on the first of seven voyages.
- 4The Portuguese capture Melaka.
- 5Iskandar Muda becomes Sultan of Aceh.
- 6Abd al-Rauf al-Singkili returns to Aceh after years of study in Arabia.
The chapters
Read the era, in six parts
Six short chapters take you through the era in order.
- 01Monsoon winds and merchantsfrom the 7th centuryHow seasonal winds and Muslim traders linked Arabia, India, the Malay world and China.Read
- 02The first sultanates of Sumatra13th centuryPasai becomes an early Muslim port-kingdom on Sumatra's northern coast.Read
- 03Melakac. 1400–1511A harbour city grows into a great centre of trade and learning.Read
- 04Java and the nine saints15th–16th centuriesTeachers and traders spread Islam along Java's north coast.Read
- 05Muslims in China: from the Tang to Zheng He7th–15th centuriesMerchants, soldiers and scholars build communities, and a Muslim admiral commands fleets.Read
- 06Scholars of the archipelago and the road to Makkah16th–18th centuriesStudents travel to Makkah and return as teachers.Read
Rihla · a journey to play
Take the Rihla through this era
Journey 4, The Silk Road, covers the overland road towards China. Ibn Battuta's travels (Journey 6) include the sea road to China, and he stopped at Pasai in Sumatra in 1345.
Sources
Sources for this era
The books, lectures and maps behind this page are listed on our Sources page.
- Classical history
- Modern study
- Lecture series
- Map & atlas
How we choose sources
Classical histories first, checked against trusted modern scholarship. Approximate dates carry a “c.”
Athar’s sources